Hitsuyō no Mikoto
Hitsuyō no Mikoto (必要命, Hitsuyou no Mikoto) was priestess who charged herself with exterminating Shades and their derivatives in absolute secrecy. She held loose ties to Amegakure, who was known to help support her mission, but wasn't considered part of their military force. She was known to have given birth to a son several years before her death, but the identity of this child and potential whereabouts are currently unknown. She was the possessor of the powerful kekkei genkai Reisei, which granted her several unique abilities. Due to her status as a mystic and profession as a priestess Hitsuyō was occasionally revered by the titles Exorcism Priestess (厄払いの尼僧, Yakuharai no nisō) and Mystic Goddess (神秘的な女神, Shinpi-tekina megami). Background Little is known about Hitsuyō's past since she was a member of a nomadic Mystic clan who would constantly travel. Actually, if she hadn't maintained an association with Amegakure during the course of her life, her existence may have gone unnoticed by the world all together. This is to say that Hitsuyō maintained the low profile required of her profession, throughout her short life. In her clan she was educated in the ways of Mysticism, but not in the traditional ninja arts, which she picked up over the years without a formal education. Against the common practices of her clan Hitsuyō would often interact with shinobi that she met and would furthermore employ techniques use by them. With a nearly unnatural amount of power that Hitsuyō had collected she became a prominent priestess and Yūgure slayer in her clan. Eventually, she was chosen as a potential leader for her clan in the future. This appointment was formalized by the addition of no Mikoto to the end of her name. As time went by it looked as if Hitsuyō was to be the next leader of the clan, but just as she was about to be chosen she mysteriously abandoned the clan. This signified an important turn in Hitsuyō's life as she was to become a mother at the age of seventeen. Almost as if overnight, she retracted herself from the world of the occult and took up residence under the protectorate Amegakure, with who she held loose ties. After seven years of peace, in which she took kindly to the life of raising a child on her own, tragedy struck. Hitsuyō's past caught up with her as a unknown force composed of hundreds of Yūgure led by a handful of shinobi came to massacre her and the village. As the only defense against the impending massacre the former priestess fared well for a time, successfully holding off the hoard of Yūgure. Unfortunately in a last effort to strike a blow against her, the shinobi set Hitsuyō's, which held her son within, ablaze. Unable to act as a shield to the village any longer she rushed to save her son. Within her burning home she found not only her son, but several shinobi hoping to assassinate her. After a quick engagement Hitsuyō was able to defeat the invaders, but the opponent's weren't willing to give up so easily. Committing suicide by detonating several explosive tags within the confines of the small home, the entire burning building was brought down upon Hitsuyō, her son, and the invaders. Covering her son in the last moments before the building collapsed Hitsuyō was known to have died that night, but the whereabouts and state of her son have never been discovered by those who knew her. Amegakure shinobi who arrived on the scene stated that they found neither her body, or the body of her son, but confirmed her death considering the condition of the rest of the villages populace. Officially the cause of the massacre was reported to be bandits, and soon the events of that night would become simply a tragic occurrence in the pages of history. At some time it would seem that Hitsuyō encountered Shirokaze Fuyutama who taught her how to utilize the lightning release through the technique Youshun. It is currently unknown what prompted the Majutsu Swordsman to instruct her in a technique he prized so much. Appearance Hitsuyō was a woman with a slender, yet athletic, build whose height was slightly above average height. She maintained shoulder length silver hair which would often conceal her eyes. She is said to have had dull red eyes which always appeared to be looking off into the distance. Hitsuyō is known to have dressed herself in a variety of different garbs, but she seemed to prefer modified variations of traditional garbs. As such it wasn't uncommon for her to spend extravagant amounts of money on clothing only to alter the pieces personally. Personality Hitsuyō was known to have quite a unique personality which resulted in many people to be subconsciously drawn to her. Naturally calm and easy going she was able to keep her cool in all but the most stressful situations. While this trait was practically useful in combat situations where staying would calm would make surviving a great deal easier, she was regularly confided in by complete strangers. It was if her mere willingness to listen to another and respond attentively allowed people to reveal their souls before her. Furthermore, with the addition of her impeccable memory and intellect, Hitsuyō would observe and analyze everyone she came in contact with. Whether this was done out of precaution, due to the high risks associated with her profession, or something else all together may never be fully known. With the advent of her son she became fully dedicated to his existence. Wishing for her child to be free of the violence and constant probability of death that dominated her life thus far, Hitsuyō made immediate arrangements to live a simple life. Furthermore, it was her will that her son never would have to fight for his own survival, especially by living the life of the shinobi. This is to say that she was disgusted with the fact that humans could kill one another over meaningless disputes, and the concept of the shinobi was the symbol of the that violence. To that end she never imparted her knowledge of ninjutsu or their kekkei genkai to her child, and hoped that he never discovered it on his own. While in combat Hitsuyō was known to have an incredible aptitude for battle and a resolve to match. With the added benefit of her calm demeanor she was able to remain focused and driven for several years. While she wasn't known to be merciless in combat, she was more than ready to make necessary decisions to secure her survival or the success of her objective. Her intelligence also played an important role in combat, which resulted in her being able to develop several different strategies in the heat of battle without losing her composure. Abilities Considered to naturally talented and skilled beyond her years by several notable individuals she came across during her lifetime Hitsuyō was particularly skilled in the art of battle. More specifically she seemed to have a knack for the ninja arts. It is suspected that if her life wasn't tragically cut short that her abilities would have inevitably increased to unimaginable levels. Reisei Main Article: Reisei It is suspected that a great deal of Hitsuyō's power, including her unique access to the Yin Release, is due to the kekkei genkai Reisei. While the full details of her mastery of this bloodline are currently unknown, she has show the ability to temporarily create form from nothingness. As such she was able to conjure weapons and chains at will for various situations. In addition to the ability to conjure items, Hitsuyō claimed that her mastery of the Yin Release granted her incredibly high level of chakra control by manipulating the form of techniques she used. While it is known that she also mastered the activation the dōjutsu portion of this kekkei genkai, it is unknown how skilled she was with its usage. Ninjutsu Hitsuyō primary arsenal extended from her use of ninjutsu, which she was quite skilled in. In particular she was known to have mastered a variety of techniques ranging from nature manipulation to fūinjutsu. Nature Transformation Out of the claimed arsenal of techniques that Hitsuyō has at her disposal, the former priestess has shown a great amount of skill in the area of elemental ninjutsu. Utilizing the elements of Wind and Lightning with both precision and grace Hitsuyō is a dangerous adversary. Along with her masterful chakra control she was known to commonly skip or reduce the required amount of hand seals used in these techniques. This allowed her to chain together several techniques in quick succession in order to maximize her strategies to the fullest. Her skill with elemental techniques is apparently great enough to master a second element, lightning, over the course of a single week through skill alone. Mysticism Main Article: Mysticism Through the art of mysticism Hitsuyō was able to master her Yin Release to the highest level in order to specifically combat Yūgure. Expanding upon the ability to conjure temporary items she was taught to call forth weapons and tools designed to quickly eliminate unnatural beings. Her skill with this are was so great that she is said to have mastered Mystic Illusions and the Nine Cuts Mudrā, a technique revered as the Mystic's most secret technique, to its highest level. Taijutsu While not her prefered style of combat, Hitsuyō was undoubtedly skilled in both armed and unarmed combat. Utilizing quick precise strikes and speed effectively she was able to easily hold off several opponents at once. While she could decimate the average opponent simply with unarmed combat, Hitsuyō true skill at close range came through her mastery of Kenjutsu. Wielding the [[Myaku-giri|Myaku-giri (脈切り, Pulse Cutter)]] was known to be able to duel with all but the strongest opponents. Her skill with a blade was said to be great enough to overcome elemental projectiles with only a blade in hand. Stats File:Hitsuyou Stats.jpg|Hitsuyō's Statistics